Mumbai gear up for a tough battle

A wrong choice of hotel led to some hassle for Mumbai on Tuesday. They'd put themselves up at a five-star hotel in far-off Janakpuri in west Delhi, which would have caused serious commuting problems. Khurram Habib reports. Star watch

A wrong choice of hotel led to some hassle for Mumbai on Tuesday. They'd put themselves up at a five-star hotel in far-off Janakpuri in west Delhi, which would have caused serious commuting problems.

Better sense prevailed, however, and the team shifted to a five-star hotel closer to the Karnail Singh Stadium.

Apart from this glitch, the Wasim Jaffer-led side are set for their opening Group A clash against Railways starting on Thursday. They will hope the pitch doesn't cause any hassle.

"It looks like the usual Karnail Singh wicket and looks decent," Jaffer said after taking a look at the newly-laid track. If his reading of the track turns out

correct, then it could play slow and low. But Railways and Delhi, who played a practice game here last week, praised it saying the ball came on to the bat nicely.

Strong battingThough Mumbai have a strong batting line-up, the absence of Ajinkya Rahane will affect the visitors, Jaffer admitted. Also missing is ace paceman Ajit Agarkar. While Mumbai have a spatter of youth, Railways are relying on their old warhorses like JP Yadav, Sanjay Bangar and Murali Kartik.